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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — a weight
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — for catching
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cue — a signal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — a series
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cue — for pool
  21. net — after costs
  22. field — farmland
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cue — a hint

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com